Background: The Reserve Bank of Australia - aka the RBA is responsible for Australia's monetary policy. In other words, keeping Australia's economy humming along nicely. Not too hot, not too cold...just right. 

What happened: The RBA changes our interest rates, issues our currency...but one thing it hasn't had a firm grip on is cryptocurrency. But now it's diving head-first into an international digital-currency project called Project Dunbar. 

What else: Project Dunbar will test whether central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could make cross-border payments cheaper and quicker than they are today. 

So what's the key learning?

💡Cross-border payments have become a critical part of our economies going global. But, it's fair to say it's been dominated by the large financial institutions.

💡Here's how it works: when you want to send $1,000 to your aunt in Switzerland, it has to go through a network of banks. And there are a lot middle-men-and-women involved in this process:

• Your local bank in Australia
• A corresponding bank network of multiple banks
• And then the local bank in Switzerland (or anywhere else). 

💡And it hits us, too. Aussie banks rake in currency conversion fees of nearly 3% - and as much as 4% - when we make overseas transactions. But with CBDCs, banks can transact directly - and instantly - with each other. Which should remove a whole lotta unnecessary costs.